The Deets

Google’s release of what the web looked like 10 years ago has been fun to play around with. I Googled myself, of course, and found an article I had forgotten about from 1996 regarding the windproof jockstrap company I used to own called The Hand:

Humbug - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

Give him a hand

OK, all of you who still haven’t finished your holiday gift shopping, raise your hands.

Now go buy some. Hands, that is.

The Hand, made and marketed by a small St. Paul company of the same name, can best be described as a cold-weather athletic supporter. It’s aimed mainly at cross-country skiers and others who like to exercise in raw temperatures.

Ed Kohler, the 22-year-old owner of The Hand, said he first encountered the product a couple years ago, when he was on the cross-country ski team at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. (Kohler, a cross-country champion at St. Paul’s Central High School, has since transferred to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.)

“Every year, we’d have 40 below for a high for at least two weeks,” Kohler said of life in Alaska. “I’d tried some other products like this, but this was the best.”

Good humor.

Shoefiti was covered by Charlottesville, Virginia’s Daily Progress newspaper:

‘Shoefiti’ phenomenon has no clear answer

Ed Kohler is the creator of shoefiti.com, a Web site that tracks shoefiti across the country and world. He says he created the term in 2005, after noticing shoes on utility lines near his Minneapolis, Minn., home.

Nobody’s ever been able to scientifically identify a reason for the dangling shoes, but they pop up in several different countries and in cities of all sizes, Kohler said.

The real reasons could depend on where the shoes are found, he said.

“On the lighter side of things, if it’s near a high school, it’s probably a case of hazing or something like that,” said Kohler, 33. “If it’s near a military base, it might be something where people finish their time and they’re celebrating.”

Jeff and Sarah may remember when I did this interview while stepping out from the Riverview Wine Bar for a few minutes on May 25th.

Quick quote from your media whore about a new free WiFi network out of Spain that’s invading the United States:

Starbucks’ Pushy New Neighbor

Some businesses already offer free Wi-Fi as a way to attract customers. Large chain restaurants such as Schlotzsky’s and Panera Bread Co. have offered free Wi-Fi for years. In fact, Panera operates one of the largest free Wi-Fi networks in the country.

“There are some costs involved in setting up and maintaining the network, but none of that changes with the Fon deal,” said Ed Kohler, a web-business developer and blogger at TechnologyEvangelist.com. “Businesses will see the most benefit from providing free Wi-Fi in exchange for a customer relationship. … I don’t think this will have a significant effect on the uptake of Wi-Fi. Businesses who saw Wi-Fi as a draw have likely already adopted it by now.”

If case you’re not a regular reader of Advertising Age. It’s a magazine about . . . wait for it . . . advertising. They put articles between the ads to mix things up a bit.